Innocence
by afitwilight
Summary: What Sara was thinking when Nick was being accused of Kristy's murder? N/S


Title: Innocence   
  
Spoilers: Boom  
  
Disclaimer: Sadly, I have nothing to do with the show. Just a devoted fan.  
  
Pairings: N/S friendship mostly, a little romance  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
Sara's POV  
  
Grissom, Catherine, and I were going over the evidence we collected at our crime scene when Nick walked in. At first glance, he looked fine, but after a closer look I could sense something was wrong.   
  
"Hey guys." He greeted us and then focused on Grissom. "Can I steal you for a minute?"  
  
Grissom gave him a blank stare. "Thought it was your night off."  
  
Catherine looked up at Nick. "We're kinda busy Nick." She told him plainly.   
  
"I know that and I'm sorry. But I don't think this can wait." With that spoken, he and Grissom walked out of the room leaving me alone with Catherine. I turned and looked at her.   
  
"What do you think that was about?" I asked her.  
  
She shrugged her shoulders. "No clue. What ever it is, I'm sure Nicky can handle it."  
  
I had this horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach that something was very wrong in Nick's world. I only wished that he would tell me. 'And why is that, Sara?' I asked myself knowing full well the answer. 'Because I care about and I want him to open up to me.'  
  
I decided right then I would find out what was going on with Nick as soon as I could. I went back to work on my case and tried to bury the horrible feelings I was having about Nick. 'Please God, let him be okay.' I silently prayed.   
  
I soon learned what was wrong with Nick. The gossip was flying around faster than light speed. No one told me directly to my face, I had to hear it from two of the women in dayshift. I was in the restroom, when I heard the doors opening and I heard Nick's name. Not wanting to make myself known, I got inside a stall and shut the door. I stood up on the toilet, and listened in on their conversation.  
  
"Can you believe that Nick slept with that hooker?" The one woman said. I glanced out through the crack by the door to see who had said that. It was Johanna England and her friend Paige Turner.   
  
"I know. I always knew something was wrong with him. I mean face it, he seemed too perfect." Paige answered.  
  
Johanna turned to face her friend. "Why kill her though?"  
  
'Did she just say kill?' My brain tried to process that thought. There was no way that Nick could hurt anyone.   
  
"Maybe the sex sucked." Paige responded. "Doesn't matter now. Nick's totally guilty. I mean his DNA is everywhere."  
  
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Sure I knew about Nick's lady's man reputation, but I also know that Nick would never hurt anyone. It's not his nature. He's the most gentle, sweet, sincere, sexy guy I know. 'Sexy?' I smiled to myself. 'Very sexy.' I shook my head. 'Get a grip Sidle, you don't need to go there.'   
  
"Yeah." I could hear them washing their hands and walk out of the room. I hopped down and leaned my head against the door. 'That's what was so important earlier.' I knew I had to help him. Of course, Grissom put Catherine on his case. I guess it's better than not having one of us. I opened the door and walked over to the sink. I reached down and washed my face. I still had to help Grissom on our case. I'll talk to Nick when I can. I walked out of the restroom and headed toward Grissom's office.  
  
~ * ~ * ~* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~   
  
I just got some information on my case and I went in search for Grissom. I could hear his voice, but I stopped as soon as I figured out he wasn't alone. He was talking to Catherine and they were discussing Nick. I leaned against the wall and tried very hard to listen in. Grissom was in the middle of his speech when I finally heard him.  
  
"But it doesn't disprove Nick's presence at the time of the homicide."  
  
"You could be a little more supportive." Catherine told him and I could tell she walked off.  
  
I wanted nothing more that to tell Grissom that Catherine was right. We all needed to support Nick, but when I reached him I panicked. I began discussing what I had just learned about our case. 'I'm such a coward.' I thought to myself. I faked the smile on my face and went right along with Grissom.   
  
We finally solved our case and I was worried about Nick. I needed to find out information about him. I walked into the lab and found Greg. "Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?"  
  
Greg turned around to face me. He grinned really big and nodded. "What can I do for you Sara?"  
  
"I need information on Nick's case." I answered plainly hoping that the nervousness in my voice didn't go noticed by the young lab tech in front of me.  
  
"I thought Catherine was working his case." Greg stated and gave me an odd look. "Why are you wanting to know?"  
  
'Because I need to help prove Nick's innocence.' I wanted to yell. That would cause a scene so I didn't. "I just want to make sure that Nick is proven innocent."   
  
"Fair enough, but I can already tell you that Catherine is already on that. In fact, she should be at the crime scene gathering more stuff."  
  
I was about ready to leave when Greg grabbed me by the elbow. "Don't go there Sara. Ecklie might think you and Catherine are compromising evidence to keep Nick from being arrested."  
  
"Nick's not going to be arrested. He didn't kill that girl and if Catherine doesn't prove it, then I am." With that, I walked out leaving Greg to ponder on that statement. I walked down the hall trying to figure out what I need to do next. I'll go hunt Nick down and talk to him. I began looking for him but I couldn't find him. I found Warrick sitting in the break room. "Hey." I greeted him.  
  
"Hey Sara. I thought you went home?" He said and took a drink of his coffee.  
  
"I was looking for Nick. Have you seen him?" I silently prayed that Warrick wouldn't give me the third degree about why I needed to see him. Luckily for me, he didn't.  
  
"He just left with Catherine to go to the police station."  
  
My heart sank. I have no clue what was keeping me on my feet. Maybe it was embarrassment of fainting in front of Warrick. "What happened?" I was now terrified. 'Nick can't go to jail!' I kept telling myself.  
  
"Catherine found evidence that clears Nick."  
  
"Thank God." I said and released the breath I didn't know I was holding. I gave Warrick a smile. "I'm heading out now. I'll see you tonight."  
  
"Yeah, I'm going myself. Want me to walk with you to your car?" Warrick stood up and threw his cup away.   
  
I nodded. "Sure, why not?" We walked out of the break room and made our way to the parking lot. I reached my car and turned around to face Warrick. "Thanks. I'll see you later."  
  
"Bye Sara." Warrick walked off and I got inside my car. I drove right toward the police station.  
  
I pulled in the driveway and waited. My hands were shaking so bad. I couldn't help but think how close Nick was to having his entire life ruined. I made myself calm down and got out of the car. I had an idea where Nick might be and headed that way. Sure enough, a few minutes later I spotted him coming down the hallway. He looked pissed. 'This can't be good.' Nick hadn't noticed me yet. He was staring straight ahead, but his eyes weren't focusing on anything. I walked right up to him and put my hand up to stop him. "Hey Nick."  
  
Somewhere inside his mind registered that I was there. He gave me an odd look. "Sara? What are you doing here?"  
  
"I came to see if you were okay." I answered.  
  
"Well I'm not!" He stated. "Why would I be? I just lost a friend of mine and then I was charged for her murder!"  
  
I was beginning to think being here was a bad idea, but I couldn't leave him. What if he did something stupid? "I know you're not okay. I thought I would come here and try to help you."  
  
  
  
"Help me how?" He lashed out. "Nothing you can do can bring her back!"  
  
I felt a tear cascade down my cheek. I had no clue that I was even crying. "Don't you think I realize that? I'm worried about you." I could feel the tears coming down faster. "I'm sorry this has happened to you, and I swear if I could change things I would. But Nick, I care about you and I'm just trying to help." I turned around, unable to face him anymore. I just poured my heart out to him and he doesn't seem to care. I needed to leave. I began to walk away from him. I had to get to my car. I had no clue he was behind me, calling out to me, until I tried to open my car door and he closed it. I had my back to him and I wanted to leave but I was trapped between his arms.   
  
"Sara, turn around." He said.  
  
What choice did I have? I turned around but I refused to look at him. No need to humiliate myself before him again. "Look at me." He replied. I couldn't. So he placed his hand under my chin and pulled my face up. I saw the tears in his eyes.   
  
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you." He told me.  
  
"I guess it was my fault." I said hating to see him in such pain. I wanted to take him in my arms and hold him. I wanted to take away every ounce of pain he was feeling.   
  
"Don't think like that. It's not your fault at all."   
  
I held my arms out and he fell into them. I ran my arms along his back trying to soothe him and calm him down while he cried. After a few minutes, he pulled away. "Thanks Sara. I'm glad you're here."  
  
"Where else would I be?" I replied.  
  
"I don't know, at home catching up on some much needed sleep."  
  
"I don't need that much sleep." I looked into his eyes. "Besides, I wouldn't have been able to sleep knowing that you were alone."  
  
"I'm glad you came."  
  
"Me too." I looked around and realized that I didn't see his car and I was sure Catherine had left. "Do you need a ride home?"  
  
"Yeah, that would be great."  
  
He got into my car and along the way home, he feel asleep. I could hear the sound of his breathing, slow and steady. I stole a quick glance at him and smiled. He looked so peaceful while he was asleep. I wanted nothing more than to kiss him right then, but I was driving so I had to make do with taking glances at him. I finally made it to his apartment and pulled up in his driveway. I turned the engine off and released my seatbelt. I reached over and gently shook his shoulder. "Nick, you're home."  
  
He opened his eyes and looked around. He finally realized where he was. He turned to me and smiled. "Thanks for the ride." He paused for a moment and his eyes were distant. He snapped out of his daze and stared at me. "Would you like to come in?"  
  
I smiled. "Do you want me to?"  
  
"Yes." He said simply.  
  
"Than I would love to." I got out of my car and walked around to meet him. We walked inside. Nick flipped on the light and pointed toward the sofa. "Have a seat. Can I get you something to drink?"  
  
I went over to the sofa and sat down. I glanced up at him. "What do you have?"  
  
"Soda, water, milk, orange juice. I'm out of alcohol though."  
  
"A soda sounds good right now."   
  
He disappeared in the kitchen and came back later with two twenty ounce bottles of diet coke. "Sorry, diet is all I have right now."  
  
"That's fine." I reply and take a soda from his hand. He sits down beside me on the couch and we drink our sodas in silence for a few moments. "What was she like?" I had no clue where that came from.  
  
"Who?" Nick asked just as confused as I now felt.  
  
"Your friend." Some how I felt myself drawn to know more about the women that Nick slept with. I don't why. Maybe it was because I wanted to know what his type of woman was or maybe it was some jealous streak that I needed to know what she had that I didn't. Either way, I desperately wanted to find out.  
  
"Kristy was different." He laughed. "I mean, every time I saw her she was in trouble." He continued to tell me about each time he had to come to her rescue. I sat back and listened quietly. I knew that just having him talk about it, was making him feel a little better.  
  
"So, she didn't have family around?" I asked.  
  
"No. I told Al that I would pay for the funeral expenses. I want to make sure she has a proper burial."  
  
Again, I have no idea where my next comment came from. "I'll help you pay for it."  
  
At that moment, I honestly had no clue who was more surprised, me or Nick. I watched his face for a moment. He reached out and grabbed my hand. "You don't have to do that." He told me.  
  
"I know I don't, but I want to." I couldn't help but notice the warmth that was coming from Nick's hand. He squeezed it and then tried his hardest not to yawn.  
  
"I better go and let you get some of that much needed sleep." I got off the couch and he got up with me.   
  
"Are you sure?"   
  
"You need some rest." I leaned over and kissed his cheek. "If you need me for any reason call me okay."  
  
"I will." He walked me to the door and opened it for me. I was about to walk out, but he grabbed my arm.   
  
"Sara."  
  
I turned around and faced him. "Yes."  
  
"Thank you for everything. Thanks for not looking down on me for sleeping with a hooker."  
  
"Nick, she was your friend. I don't care what she was and neither should you."  
  
He gave me one of his famous grins and leaned down and kissed me gently on the lips. The kiss lasted only a few seconds, and I found myself wanting a lot more. I knew that now wasn't the time, but I've been patient this long. I can wait a little longer. "Good night Nick."  
  
"Night Sara." I gave him one last wave and walked out the door and headed to my car. I could hear Nick call out to me. "Don't forget, I need a ride to work tonight."  
  
I laughed. "Don't worry Nicky, I'll be here." I got in the car and drove off.  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
A MONTH LATER  
  
I got out of my car and grabbed the bouquet of flowers from my car. I walked along the grass past the different markers. I casually glanced at the names while I made my way to one. I found Nick standing there talking to her. He and I put our money together and gave her the proper funeral and burial. The night shift team was the only ones there, but that didn't matter. Not to Nick, the only thing that mattered to him was that his friends had cared enough about him. I walked up to him and placed the flowers down on her grave and stepped back. Nick reached out and grabbed my hand. After the night in his apartment, we began seeing each other after work. We decided to take things slow, since Nick was still healing. He was grateful. He looked at me and smiled. "You ready?"  
  
"Yeah, I am. Are you?" I asked not wanting to rush him.  
  
"I think so." He gave one last look at the grave and then gave my hand a squeeze. We walked back out of the graveyard and headed toward my car. "Meet you back at your place?" I asked.  
  
"I'll see you there." He leaned over and kissed me.   
  
I pulled away after a few moments. He gave me one last quick kiss and told me bye. I watched him get in his car and pull out toward the road. I gave the graveyard one last look. "He really cared about you Kristy. I hope you rest in peace."   
  
~Finished~  
  
Missy 


End file.
